Adventures with eBay Scammers

Note: Due to the size of this thread and the difficulty navigating it, I have closed it to new comment entries. Thank you for understanding.

For those of you who are only interested in getting to the moral of the story, there are two:

Be extremely cautious and conservative buying stuff off of eBay

Anything which sounds to good to be true probably is.

The other day, my wife's passing hand, combined with some static buildup, managed to shock my aging, decrepit laptop enough that the network card and PCMCIA slot failed to work for the next hour and a half. Eventually, they "came back" on their own (several reboots later), after a great deal of monkeying, shaking, powering-off, unplugging, removing batteries, and general hair-pulling and curse-slinging.

I realized then that my old, reliable Sony Vaio PCG-Z505SX had seen better days. It never has really been a "desktop replacement", but much more a "desktop adjunct". The thing I really like about it is the size. It's small -- only a 12" screen -- and the keys are in intuitive locations. It has a positive "feel" why you type on the keyboard, and that's 90% of what I do: typing. Well, if you exclude mousing.

When I want to play games, I go sit in front of my big desktop computer and play. I also use that same workstation to record music, and frequently I've found that drivers or updates which I need to play a given game conflict with what I need to run my digital recording gear. It sucks, but recording wins out over games. I have a few still sitting in their boxes because I found that, in order to run them, I had to upgrade drivers which would then cause my recording rig to not work right. Darn. They remain unplayed.

Anyway, I got laptop-hungry. This laptop broke, and I realized that it was last mass-produced in 1999. That's a good run for a piece of hardware, and other than having to replace the hard drive a year ago, it's been really good to me. All good things must end, and I suspect this recent ethernet/PC card failure is the first of many failures to come. Besides, it can only fit 128MB of RAM. I have more RAM than that on the video card of my desktop PC. It does make it a somewhat slow, frustrating experience to use, ameliorated only by the fact that I have it running GNU/Linux, which handles aging, under-sized hardware much more gracefully than Windows XP.

Here's where the real adventure begins. I spent some time early this morning, over lunch, and this evening investigating laptop options. I checked out the most recent models, read a bunch of reviews, and decided what kinds of features I wanted. Initially, I really wanted an Apple PowerBook, but I abandoned that plan. As much as I love my Mac upstairs, I realized that I could replace my 4-year-old recording rig with a new laptop. I don't want to re-invest the money in a Mac-based recording rig, really. It was too expensive, and took too much time to build up, for me to want to do it all over again on a different software platform.

Besides, there's that whole learning-curve thing. I'm comfortable with Cakewalk Sonar. I really don't want to learn ProTools if I can avoid it.

I found some great deals on eBay. Being somewhat naive about these things, I followed the instruction on the posting which said, "I have a buy-it-now price for this auction; contact me at b_blancoo0@yahoo.com for the price".

I did so. Here's the e-mail exchange. I quickly became very leery. See if you can spot what's wrong with his responses...

I apologize for my incredulity, but that seems to be about $1,000 less than competing similar laptops. How do you sell them at such a low price? Is this simply a great deal for the ethically-challenged?

In addition, your eBay account seems to have been suspended due to your request for offline "buy it now" requests. Do you plan to reinstate it? I would feel more comfortable making a purchase knowing that your account is in good standing.

sir i have a problem with my account and i stop the auctions and ebat will resolv this problem
i sell at this price because i need this money for my soon life
reply me asap and tell if you make this deal with me

Yep. 100% criminal. Important tip for would-be criminals: if a customer asks why something is such a good deal, telling them the price is good because "i need this money for my soon life" is probably not a good gambit. This would be laughable if it weren't for the next closed-bid seller whom I contacted regarding the sale of a laptop who was so remarkably similar.

HI
First I want to tell you that my laptop are brand new, unopened box
all accessories included and also an international warranty .
My price is the best you could get: 900USD(not euro), including the
shipping and insurance taxes. We will pay them because the package
will be delivered from Europe.
As delivery service we use UPS2days air service or overnight (with insurance and
15 days return policy), because it's the faster. And if you will have
a quick payment, we must also have a quick delivery. So that's why we
use as a payment method Western Union money transfer, the fastest and
also very secure way of sending money. I just open a electronics company here in europe
If i will make with you a good deal,you will recommend me ,maybe ,to your friends or to other persons.For me it is very important to have permanent deals on ebay,
any negatice deal will not make good to me,That explain the price
So, if you agree with my terms I'm sure that we can close the deal as soon as possible.
Waiting your quick answer right now,

THANK YOU

Another important tip for would-be criminals: Asking people to send money internationally via Western Union is almost a sure tip-off that this is a version of the Spanish Prisoner, a.k.a. the Nigerian Scam. Of course, hundreds of people fall for this every year, to the tune of thousands and possibly millions of dollars...

I did not purchase from either seller. I value my money. Here are my suggestions when you make ebay purchases:

Check the seller's history. Not just their feedback rating, because these days so many accounts are getting hijacked, but actually what they have sold, how much they've sold it for, what their payment requirements were, etc. For instance, the feedback history on the second seller was great. But all he had ever sold were sporting goods, and he had only ever accepted PayPal. This is a sudden, out-of-character change. Even if it were legit, that sudden of a change would leave me leery.

No Western Union or Money Orders out of the country. It doesn't matter how good the deal is, it's not a good deal when they walk away with your $1000 and you have nothing to show for it.

As much as I hate to say it, check their grammatical habits. "Nigerian Scammers" have a peculiar writing style. It's an immediate red-flag to a potential ripoff. On the other hand, someone being smooth and well-spoken is no guarantee of truthfulness. That's why con artists do so well in this country, too.

I despise criminals. My greatest concern is simply that I've given these scammers my real-life email address, and I'm really not that tough to locate. Ahh, well, there's no such thing as privacy anyways.

Comments

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Matt is quite the homework doer, huh? Funny, but he didn't do his homework in high school. But he learned when to do it to make it count the most, huh?

In our marriage we've worked very hard to do the research before any major purchase and not buy anything spur of the moment.

Meanwhile, two or three people are very disappointed today that they didn't make a free $1000 last night. The money will be spent eventually, when we feel comfortable with the situation.

All of us have to make a large purchase now and then, so be sure to do your homework! Another example, we recently learned that you can buy very nice matresses off the internet, they only charge $15 shipping and you can save several hundred to a couple thousand $$ by not buying them from a furniture store! But of course we'll try out the matresses at the furniture store to figure out what we'd like!--

I almost fell for it. The first email is the same email.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
HI
First I want to tell you that my power mac and cdispay are brand new, unopened box
all accessories included and also an 3 year apple care and international warranty.
My price is the best you could get: 1500USD(not euro), including the
shipping and insurance taxes. We will pay them because the package
will be delivered from Europe.
As delivery service we use UPS2days air service or overnight (with insurance and
15 days return policy), because it's the faster. And if you will have
a quick payment, we must also have a quick delivery. So that's why we
use as a payment method Western Union money transfer, the fastest and
also very secure way of sending money. I just open a electronics company here in europe
If i will make with you a good deal,you will recommend me ,maybe ,to your friends or to other persons.For me it is very important to have permanent deals on ebay,
any negatice deal will not make good to me,That explain the price
So, if you agree with my terms I'm sure that we can close the deal as soon as possible.
Waiting your quick answer right now,

THANK YOU

2ND EMAIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My name is Victor Tudor and I represent a small but serious company in Buzau (Romania), but. In order to handle this deal on good terms I would like to inform you of a few things.

1. All items are brand new, have never been opened, have an international warranty provided by the factory, and come with all the necessary accesories.
2. SHIPMENT - This is something you shouldn't worry about because I believe it is my responsibility to deliver the items safely to your home.We can do it one of two ways. Either way I will pay for all related shipping expenses. I can send the package: -UPS overnight or -FedEX overnight
It will take one day and a half for the package to arrive to you. I will always pay for insurance in case any damage occurs during the handling and shipping, so we will both beprotected in case of damage.
3. HOW TO PAY - We have chosen Western Union's as a payment method because they have always served our
needs in a professional manner. We consider promptness a vital condition of the modern e-Commerce market. To arrange the transfer, you must go in person to a Western Union office and
send the money from your name and address to my name and address .Here
are the details that you need for the money transfer:

Please be precise with my first and last name.
To send the money you must find a Western Union agent location and send the money from there
because Western Union doesn't accept money online in Romania.
After you send the money, you will recive a confirmation number and
then you can email me the following details :
-the sender name
-the sender address
-the amount
-MTCN (money transfer control number)

4. REFUND -After the package arrives you have a 15 days period in
which you can send the package back for a full refund, NO QUESTIONS ASKED, but you will need to pay for the shipping back to me.
5.TAXES -There may be some customs duties for you to pay, but if you like, you can avoid them (if any):
In order to avoid customs fees, I can declare the item as a gift for you and in this way you will pay NO costum fees and you will receive the item very fast. You can declare to Western Union that you are sending the money to a friend in Romania that way when our deal I can get the money from W.U. without problems.
Please let me know when you have made the payment and after this I will start the delivery process.
I look forward hearing from you.PLEASE SEND UNITED STATES DOLARS $$ NOT EURO
the items are the same like in usa and work 100% in usa
Sincerely,
Victor Tudor

3RD EMAIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!
please look at my feedback profile ..i have 100% positive feedback and i don't want to dissapoint you...I I am not a scam artist, and the last thing I want to do is rob you.
I am a very honest man honest in every aspect of my life and like to believe that we have a mutual trust.look i live by the rules ...money to me is nothing in life it the trust that it count ,
If you try to scam somebody in life, later on life will scam you back.
I promise, you won't be dissapointed. I am a man of my word.You can count on me.
About our deal I assume we are 2 mature persons who want to make a fair deal.
I understand you are alittle concerned from this point of view but this is not the case.
I am a very good ebayer with a very good rating and my interest is to have very good deals on ebay so i can have in the future good deals.If i will make with you a good deal,you will recommend me ,maybe ,to your friends or to other persons.For me it is very important to have permanent deals on ebay,any negatice deal will not make good to me.More,i will provide 15 days money back warranty,i mean ,if in 15 days you will
change your mind you will resend the item to me on my expenses.I think this is more than fair.But i need to provide me the payment confirmation, prior to shipping in order to make the shippment.I hope you can understad me and also,i hope we can finalize this deal in the best manner.You will have my personal quarentee you will receive the item immediately without questions... i promise. i keep my word in every part of this deal..i have sold bikes on ebay i don't sell my reputation for MONEY ...I don't trust paypal payments anymore i got scamed last week or any other onlne auctions go to this web address and read the reviewes:http://paypalsucks.com/
Western Union services are more secure that paypal or any other online services.
No particulary reasons for western union but i will receive the funds more easy,anyway you can ask for reference at :admin@safeserverebay.com
this man work for ebay and bought from me 5 units last week .

I don't trust paypal payments anymore i got scamed last week or any other onlne auctions go to this web address and read the reviewes

I call baloney. The prior owner of that eBay account knew how to spell, punctuate, capitalize, and run a sale. And the guy happens to be selling two very expensive, high-demand laptops (Alienware AND Apple Powerbooks) at an incredible price? The account either got sold or hacked.

whois on "safeserverebay.com" returns obviously falsified information (owned by one "Iohack Mailer1". So the scam artist tries to send you to paypalsucks.com, saying that he got "scamed last week" after using Paypal on his bike auctions for two years? And then he tells you to email an obvious shill account from a domain that sounds like it's used for phishing schemes (safeserverebay? Come on!) to get confirmation of what a great dealer he is? I'm certain, if you were to mail the address provided, he'll receive your mail and respond with glowing praise for himself.

Of course, there are these sorts of scammers, too, that will only scam 9 out of 10 people they pinch. That way, people's experiences won't match up, and people are likely to doubt the skeptics. So there's a small possibility this phishing-scheme domain name is actually a legitimate purchaser, but even that doesn't invalidate the fact that this is almost certainly a scammer on a stolen (or sold) ebay account. If you really want to purchase stuff internationally in a safe fashion, use a Visa or American Express, only. Those two give you buyer protection. Paypal to a verified address on a verified account is pretty good, too.

I also looked at his sale history. The former account owner was in Great Britain, not Romania. All of his sales were Paypal in British Pounds. Now he lives in Romania and wants Western Union payment in U.S. dollars... Wow. What a bad scammer he is, huh? :) You took it further than I was willing to, though. Kudos to you for not getting scammed!

EDIT: Just for fun, I decided to do an ebay search on "alienware". This guy showed up on the first page, same symptoms: closed bids, "buy it now" prices not actually on "buy it now". The difference? It's a *totally* different account. He's now running as "lawton1980"; apparently, the previously hacked account got sniffed out.

HI
First I want to tell you that my avic n2 are brand new, unopened box
all accessories included and also an international warranty .
My price is the best you could get: 700USD(not euro), including the
shipping and insurance taxes. We will pay them because the package
will be delivered from Europe.
As delivery service we use UPS2days air service or overnight (with insurance and
15 days return policy), because it's the faster. And if you will have
a quick payment, we must also have a quick delivery. So that's why we
use as a payment method Western Union money transfer, the fastest and
also very secure way of sending money. I just open a electronics company here in europe
If i will make with you a good deal,you will recommend me ,maybe ,to your friends or to other persons.For me it is very important to have permanent deals on ebay,
any negatice deal will not make good to me,That explain the price
So, if you agree with my terms I'm sure that we can close the deal as soon as possible.
Waiting your quick answer right now,

The funny thing to me is that the dude wouldn't be doing it unless some suckers fall for it.

Note to self: people with poor grammar who only accept Western Union outside of my home country and are attempting to sell me expensive electronics are a bad risk for my money...

On the plus side, I found a PC notebook I really wanted, for a reasonable price, with a ton of extras. And I bought it straight from the vendor's site with an $800 off coupon. That was a fun adventure.

Another note: this is the only page that comes up for searches on "emicrox11" or "emicrox11@aol.com". You'd think that, a week after this guy's name shows up as a scammer, he'd find a new email address, no?

I just about fell for the same scam. My emails were almost identical. The product was a G5 apple dual processor speced to the limit and priced too good to be true. I did a quick google for the guys email and found your blog. Thank goodness! Thanks. G.

those scammer, i wonder why people fal for them
i also got this email from such person in romania.

From : EMANUEL ZOLTOREANU

Yes it is brand new .
It has warranty .
Warranty for 3 years .
I`ll ship by FEDEX, UPS or DHL (you choose) with 2/4 days delivery
time.
The package will be seald and i pay insurance for 100% safe delivery .
We will pay shipping and insurance .
You need to make the payment via Western Union wire money transfer
(www.westernunion.com )
You can find a near location at this link :(really lengthy link here, one day I gotta fix how long lines display on my blog)
> Here is my address :
>First name: EMANUEL
>Last name : ZOLTOREANU
>Address : STR. TABEREI
>City : TULCEA
>Country : Romania
> After u paid u have to provide us with the details about the payment :
> eg.:
> MTCN (Money Transfer Control Number) : .................
> Amount that we will receive : ...............
> Sender First Name : ..........
> Last name : ..........
> Address : .............
> City : ............
> Zip code : .........
> Country : ........
> Reply us a.s.a.p. with the information required , so we can confirm the
>delivery .
> Best Regards,

First I want to tell you that my Imac G5 are brand new, unopened box
all accessories included and also an international warranty.
The invoice will come at the same time with the package.
My price is the best you could get: 700 usd/unit, including the
shipping and insurance taxes. We will pay them because the package
will be delivered from Europe. As delivery service we use UPS2days air service or overnight (with insurance and 15 days return policy), because it's the faster. And if you will have a quick payment, we must also have a quick delivery. So that's why we use as a payment method Western Union money transfer, the fastest and also very secure way of sending money. So, if you agree with my terms I'm sure that we can close the deal as soon as possible. Waiting your quick answer right now,

Sunday May 15th emicrox11@aol.com is still at it. Best deals on ebay! jeez, even his name emicrox = I'm a crock. as in a crock of sh*t. I hope no one falls for this guy. The mac systems are listed under "Crafts". LOL! I chatted with him on AIM, what a joke, say's he's from miami setting up a biz in europe, broken english and won't say where in europe he is.

I so sorry for scamming you and countless others that I feel I should post a list of the email addresses I use and or hacked. I just dumb foreigner who use you for to find other dumb foreigners in usa who sleep on beds of money and don't mind getting ripped off.

(or something to that nature would be my guess as to what this guy (i mean me) would say if he (i mean me) wasn't so dumb as to get his scam list caught in the great big google because he didn't set permissions correctly on his scam management software)

Another tip may be to look over feedback to see if it has an automated feel or double postings or a cyclical nature and repeating emails showing up in feedback for feedback left to those who left feedback to the scam you're hoping is that one golden gem of a deal such as a Mac G5 2.5Gz dual AND 30" Apple cinema display for a mere 1000 american (not euro) dollars. Just remember to HURRY and don't stop to think because he only has 3 left in stock.

EDIT by matthew: I have not confirmed this address list, and I'm somewhat ambivalent about letting it be posted. Time will tell whether it remains. Also, this is a "family and friends"-oriented site, so I had to make a small modification to language choice :)

I almost "bought" a notebook from him...but our exchange of letters woke up my serious suspicions :

on the web-side http://www.ebay.pl/viItem?ItemId=6771383718 I found an interessting product, but I don't anderstand one thing : you wrote : Contact me at replay20@gmail.com if you want to buy it for 700 ZL with Free delivery only today . " but the price is now more than 1500z³..........could you explain it ? I'm really interessing on it..........

with best greetings
Grzegorz

..................

yes was my mistake, the price is 1500 but if you want to buy more i can sell cheap .

thank you .

.................

sony vaio VGN-A690 ????

do we speak about the same thing? From you I can have it for 1500zł, but otherwise I had to pay for it more than 2000 $.....because of my research in internet I know the price and I'm wondering how it's possible to buy it only for 1500zł....

I'm waiting for your answer
Greg

and what with garantee?

how should I know, that you are a serious one? Looking on your history brings me nothing, because ebay in Poland is rather new thing.....
Could you send me bigger photos?
Do you speak Polish? :-)
Where do you come from?
ciao

......................

Sir i represent a business , i sold and i sell worldwide products .
all my customers are satisfied and i deal again with them , some of them are now dealers like me .
All because i`m serious in this ,
the only think that i ask for Western Union is that is the fast way to send and receive money and all my suplier wants that .

So we have a contract with WU , and need to ask payment this way ,,
plue ebay knows about this transaction , i try to send you an invoice .
anyway you decide ..

but i sold more then 20 units in 3 days , so you hurry up in your decizion .. i didn`t want to told you is personal information .. but i consider that you need to know that the laptop is good . and have a good price either .2000 ZL .

I wait your mail .

Give me your address , shipping is free . today .

..........................

you've told me the price 1500zł and now I'm confused, because you wrote me 2000zł

yes, you ar right, the laptop is very good,thats why I gonna buy it, if all things are all right...

Where are you from?
What parts includes the packet?

Greg

....................

Ok 1500 ZL ,
It has all parts like when you buy it from local store ,
All acc. included .
Here is my address ( my location ) :
First name: EMANUEL
Last name : ZOLTOREANU
Address : STR. TABEREI
City : TULCEA
Country : Romania

.....................

Dear Emanuel!

Thanks for you answer....

maybe you are wondering why I still hesitate for buying this sony notebook from you........the answer is very easy: I'm still searching for methods of recognise, if you offer is fake or truth...........and don't be angry with me, if your offer is safe for me, if I'm sure, that I don't lose my money without being satisfied, then I gonna buy it for sure, belive me!!!

If it's possible, send me this offer again, because it disapeard from ebay.pl.
Write me also, how to resolve the problem with paying.........how can I pay safty? I have to know, what I'm paying for........maybe PayPal. or something like this?

do you have another photo of this Sony?

with greetings
Greg

..................

:)
yes i see ,
no i think if i even send you pictures .,, even if i put again my listing on ebay , you will still have something to tell me not to buy it ..

you are not serious ., i sold this days more units , to peoples like you , and they knew what they wanted ,

simple and fast ..

ps : regarding the safe method .. i told you , give me your address and full name , so we can start a safe transaction through ebay ,, for both protection ..

............................

You are not serious one, if you send me such answer...............:-(

If you sell such things through internet , you should know it, that people have right to be worry, because of so many liers.......

And I'm the one, who finally would pay for it, not you.......

if you don't anderstand this things, I'm convinced that you don't wont to satisfvy my needs, ...maybe yours.......

I repeat:
If it's possible, send me this offer again, because it disapeard from ebay.pl.
Write me also, how to resolve the problem with paying.........how can I pay safty? I have to know, what I'm paying for........maybe PayPal. or something like this? Ebay is not safe, you know it very well, am I right? in Polen you don't have reputation, maybe on www.ebay.com
but I don't know you nick there.......

do you have another photo of this Sony?

with greetings
Greg

....................................

interesting, am I right?? than I found your site......thanx!!!

EDIT by matthew: Added blockquotes to ease readability, fixed some line breaks too.

don`t come with this .. he is a serious person ..
it is a good thing that is romania he is the single person serious to deal with .. emanuel ZOLTOREANU , good guy don`t blame him for the fraud in romania ,

For those interested, the previous posting came from IP address 141.85.0.79. After querying at arin.net, I found that this belonged to RIPE, the European internet number allocation services. So I looked it up, and here's the page it came up with.

Yep, that's right. The previous post was put up from a Romanian IP address.

The poster is either "emanuel" in Romania, or someone else in Romania. In short, he's the "single serious person to deal with" because, well, he says so!

(I must admit the small technical possibility that the previous posting was sent from a hijacked IP or open proxy, but it doesn't appear on any open proxy lists. It seems silly for anyone outside of Romania to spoof a Romanian IP address, though, you know?)

I see two possible explanations:

The scammer is having problems with people investigating his fraud, and is trying to save his fledgling reputation

"emanuel" actually will deliver the goods as promised, if you live in the same country as him

Sorry, bud, in my book, you've been found, tried, and convicted. You've stolen hundreds of eBay accounts, and probably reaped tens of thousands of dollars from gullible marks. The only obvious problem is that you didn't cover your tracks well enough, and were too easy to spot.

Your problem is that you're not just a criminal. You're a stupid criminal. A technically incompetent criminal. With any luck, you'll be in jail where you belong within the year. Enjoy your stay.

Hello, I was looking to buy a new mobile phone and decided to check ebay for prices on the phones. I love mobile phones and the ones I am interested in have not been released yet therefore most retailers do not know what the price is yet. I decided to check ebay to get an idea of the prices. Anyways, there were several postings on ebay most signifying that an e-mail should be sent to certain e-mail addresses to get the prices. So I sent 2 e-mails to the following e-mail addresses: ungras777@yahoo.com and fernando_badesta@yahoo.com (this one is on your list) Below are the replies which fit the pattern from your postings above.

First I want to tell you that my phones are brand new, unopened box
all accessories included and also an international warranty.
The invoice will come at the same time with the package.
My price is the best you could get: 370$/unit, including the
shipping and insurance taxes. We will pay them because the package
will be delivered from Europe.
As delivery service we use FEDEX 2 days service (with insurance and
15 days return policy), because it's the faster. And if you will have
a quick payment, we must also have a quick delivery. So that's why we
use as a payment method Western Union money transfer, the fastest and
also very secure way of sending money.
The phones work using any network, any mobile provider.
So, if you agree with my terms I'm sure that we can close the deal as
soon as possible.
Waiting your quick answer right now,

Anyways, I gave good thought to possibly proceeding with the transaction because of the excellent feedback the seller had on ebay but when I found out from a mobile dealer friend that the phone actually costs about $1400-$1600. Plus the fact that the seller said the phone is available immediately when in fact it wont be released for another couple of weeks, I knew for sure it was a scam. I decided to google the e-mail address and found your site. THANK YOU.

Another thing is, I am Nigerian and it really saddens me that we have become synonymous with scams. Its really unfortunate but given the illegal activities of many Nigerians, even I would not do business with another Nigerian person. Well, not all Nigerians are like that but I do not blame anyone for the current perception.Thanks.

He list high end products on ebay and then aks you to contact him via email directly at that point he informes you that if you want the product at the special price you must then send a money order to his address in Romania thus bypassing ebay all

Here is an email I recieved from this guy regarding a Bose lifestyle 48 sytem which normaly retails for $3,299.00
together.

My name is Maftei Cristian and I represent a small but serious company in Bucuresti, Pitesti (Romania), but I'm from the USA. In order to handle this deal on good terms I would like to inform you of a few things.

1. All items are brand new, have never been opened, have an international warranty provided by the factory, and come with all the necessary accesories (charger,battery,headset,manual,cables....)
2. SHIPMENT - This is something you shouldn't worry about because I believe it is my responsibility to deliver the items safely to your home.We can do it one of two ways. Either way I will pay for all related shipping expenses. I can send the package: -UPS overnight or -FedEX overnight
It will take one day and a half for the package to arrive to you. I will always pay for insurance in case any damage occurs during the handling and shipping, so we will both beprotected in case of damage.
3. HOW TO PAY - We have chosen Western Union's as a payment method because they have always served our
needs in a professional manner. We consider promptness a vital condition of the modern e-Commerce market. To arrange the transfer, you must go in person to a Western Union office and
send the money from your name and address to my name and address .Here
are the details that you need for the money transfer:

Please be precise with my first and last name.
To send the money you must find a Western Union agent location and send the money from there
because Western Union doesn't accept money online in Romania.
After you send the money, you will recive a confirmation number and
then you can email me the following details :
-the sender name
-the sender address
-the amount
-MTCN (money transfer control number)

4. REFUND -After the package arrives you have a 7 days period in
which you can send the package back for a full refund, NO QUESTIONS ASKED, but you will need to pay for the shipping back to me.
5.TAXES -There may be some customs duties for you to pay, but if you like, you can avoid them (if any):
In order to avoid customs fees, I can declare the item as a gift for you and in this way you will pay NO costum fees and you will receive the item very fast. You can declare to Western Union that you are sending the money to a friend in Romania that way when our deal I can get the money from W.U. without problems.
Please let me know when you have made the payment and after this I will start the delivery process.
I look forward hearing from you.

Sounds like a different Romanian Scammer... this guy has decent grammar. However, the same recipe still applies (contact outside of eBay bounds, asks for payment via Western Union, international order) so it's a fair guess it's a scam, yeah.

On the slim chance any such person is legit, there's a really easy way to avoid being listed as a scammer: stop acting like one. Seriously. Legit sellers on eBay follow regular eBay protocols for finishing sales, which gives both the buyer and the seller some protection. Only scammers and cheapskate newbies try to dodge the fees and regular way of things.

You were fortunate to have escaped the trap but i fell prey to him.
I got this fernando_badesta@yahoo.com email id from Ebay and tried to find out the deal the person was offering. He told me ?180 for N90 and that the shipment will reach within 48 hrs. I sent the money via western union and now the person is not reply to emails. But he replied yesterday. Let me see how this goes. I think he is a fraud.

I wanted to buy a Pioneer flipout CD/DVD/Navigator and fell for his trick. I should have noticed when he told me in the emails "mail the money now!" I was dumb and mailed it though. Lesson learned trust me. He wanted Western Union sent to him.

DONT EVER SEND MONEY TO A DIFFERENT COUNTRY OR THRU WESTERN UNION BIG SCAM!!

He offered to sell the player for $500 and then I got him to lower it down to $300. The retail on one of these players was $2000. I just thought he was wanting to get rid of it for cheap, but then I saw the page after I had been scammed. I hope he goes bankrupt or something stealing peoples money. What a jerk!

I cant believe i was so blind...I had been wanting an gaming comp for sometime now and whats better than finding an alienware PERFECT comp for 700 dollars on ebay? I fell into his trap trusting a stranger...i trust people to easily and this one i spent 700+ dollars on nothing but a scam...I figured it out when i payed him and he said the laptop was in my city. he said...one problem i ship 2 on accident. pay 500 more and you can have a second laptop. if not i have to reship it back here taking 3 weeks and then i will ship 1, but you have to pay s&h. I myself am so outraged at Phones_corporation@yahoo.com and at myself for being so blind by something i really wanted. way to good to be true and now i pay the price.

Scammer: $700.00 for nothing more than phishing people's eBay account information, posting a fraudulent listing on eBay, and then convincing you to send him money.

You: $-700.00. Nothing to show for it.

Ouch!

And confirming my suspicion that this scammer is not only a dirty rotten crook, but stupid and greedy to boot:
"I shipped two on accident. They're in your city. Pay $500 more and you can have the second laptop."

You can try reporting the incident to the Secret Service, who is in charge of wire fraud, but they generally will not touch any individual incident worth less than asbout $15,000. Even then, if you pursue the culprit, you'd have to work through international court systems, varying regulations, people who don't understand English, etc.

Basically, the way these scammers operate is "under the radar": not a big enough fish to fry. You will spend far more attempting to recover your lost money than you would ever lose to the scammer.

Were I you, I would consider it an expensive lesson. But a lesson less expensive than it could have been. And, perhaps, as I have done, post a page regarding said scammer's illegal activities.

That said, I understand that Western Union has a complaints department, which can help prevent others from losing their money to the same scammer. It will force the scammer to use confederates to pick up the dough, reducing his profits and his circle of friends as they get blacklisted by WU. It's worth a shot, at least. Check out the "Contact Us" page at westernunion.com.

I'd say the best move would be to educate your friends and family with how you have been taken. Detail the scammer's method to everyone you can, in hopes that you can poison at least a portion of his potential profits. He's going to take in another sucker some day... at least keep it from being people you love.

(I hope you're not offended at the language I use: "sucker", and "gullible". You were conned out of your money, straight up. It can happen to anybody, and it takes a lot of self-education to avoid being roped into scams. I suggest reading Robert Cialdini's Influence: Science and Practice. It's basically a self-help book on how to recognize when you are being "influenced", or having your natural human instincts abused by someone else for their profit. Highly recommended; it changed my life, and has kept me from being "had" many times since I read it.)

Maftei Cristian DEFINITELY appears to be a scammer. I almost fell for the Bose Lifestyle 48 system for $700. His emails were the same as all the other ones on the blog. He did answer all my emails promptly, but his ebay account was somehow suspended after I wanted to look at his feedback. Same M.O.: Western Union, UPS quick shipping, wants to have a good feedback, feels that if you scam someone it will come back to you....etc. I found this blog and decided against falling for this. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is!

hi. you hijacked my ebay account you idiot. well, i guess i am the idiot and ebay is a bigger idiot. i got scammed for 1400$ in buying a computer. your probably that person. i just hope that you don't die happy with a family but alone with a miserable death or get killed by a horrific freaky accident. you said you feel bad about conning these people then why don't you give their money back??? you feel sorry??? that is an emotion reserve for human beings!!!, which your not. you earn your money conning people and some of those people don't probably have sufficient money to be taken from them!!! you are a worthless piece of crap in this world.

The listing got yanked by eBay (which seems to be the standard policy). Interesting to me that they include a blurb about never using Western Union to give money to someone you don't already know personally:

Invalid Item

This listing (5215373602) has been removed by eBay or is no longer available. Please make sure that you've entered the item number correctly.

If the item was removed by eBay, please consider this transaction canceled. If anybody contacts you to complete the sale, please ignore the request. Completing the sale outside of eBay may be unsafe and will not be covered by eBay purchase protection programs.

Items that ended more than 90 days ago are no longer accessible through the eBay system.

Marketplace Safety TipNever pay for your eBay item using instant cash transfer services such as Western Union or MoneyGram or by recharging somebody's prepaid credit card.
These methods are not safe to pay people you do not know personally.

In addition, these payment methods are not eligible for the eBay buyer protection programs.

I just ran into the same sales pitch on ebay. We traded email four times, he gave me his address, name, etc, etc. ... When I asked for the SKU number to "ensure I wasn't buying stolen property," he responded, "Send me the cash first, then I give it to you." ... After that, he shut down his email address: CaptainSky99@aol.com

hey
hes at it again...but this time using sellcompany@aol.com, however with if u hover your cursor over the link in some of his pages, it comes up as emicroxx11@aol.com.
looking at his feedback of tupperware, strange books and odd pj or two...i was wary about the deal which seemed too good to be true...i emailed him nevertheless but did my research after. thanks for this blog...il post what he says to me in his email.

Thanks for your in-depth debunk of this scam. I saw several of these on Ebay, looking for a laptop that I can do Photoshop CS on (I'm a professional photographer, on the road a lot, and my Gateway Pentium 1.2 and 256mb memory just can't do much more than store the images, unless I've got hours to wait for it to make previews of my RAW files).

Indeed the Alienware thing is "too good to be true". thanks for helping out another would-be victim of these creeps.

So I checked the IP address on this last posting. St. Petersburg, Russia (212.58.201.231). From Russia, with love! Has the scammer network moved to include Russia as well as Romania, or could it be that they are simply exploiting an open proxy? Or, perhaps, as I suggested in my original post, they actually do deliver the goods to a small portion of their "clientele" in order to further confuse the issue?

Given the profusion of computer-illiterate Internet users in the USA who are running exploited boxes, you'd think the scammers could apply a little intelligence and at least post from a US IP address, given that the individual in question usually asks for his money in US dollars.

Matt,
This is very helpful. I wish ebay would link to these type of sites. I am very dissapointed at ebay's inability to recognize these scammers as easily and quickly as I have been able to pinpoint them in the few months I have been shopping around on ebay for electronics. Maybe I'll apply for a job there. I have received the same emails (almost verbatim) that these other people have.
Let's continue to help each other to keep the transactions secure and safe and beat these scammers in their own game.
Bottom line and as you point out - Do not send payments via Western Union or Money Gram!!

My name is Nastase Gheorghe .In order to end this deal in good terms i am going to
tell you some things that i want to follow:
1.GENERAL INFO- It is better for you to know that the item is
brand new it has never been opened, have international warranty
provided by the factory and come with all accesories that you need.
2. SHIPPMENT ---this is a thing about you shouldn't
worry about because i belive that it is my responasability to
deliver it to your home.We can do it through
-UPS overnighted
It will take one day and a half for the package to arrive to
your door.The shipping costs will be paid by me and i will also pay for the
insurance in case of any damage happens during the handling and shipping,so
i will be protected in case of damages and you too.
3.THE WAY TO PAY ---as a payment method i have
chosen WesternUnion's services because they always served our
interests in a professional manner and helped us gain buyers. i consider
promptitude a vital condition on the modern e-Commerce markets and a
guarantee of quality. To arrange the transfer, you must go in person to a
Western Union office and send the money from your name and address to my name
and address .Here are the details that you need for the money transfer:

Please be carrefull with my first and last name.
For sending the money you must find a western union agent location and send the money from there because western union don't send the money online in Romania
After that, you will recive an confirmation number and
I want you to send me the folowing details :
-the sender name
-the sender address
-the amount
-MTCN (money transfer control number)
4. REFOUND ---After the package arrives you have an 7 days period in which you can send the package back for an full and NO
QUESTION refound,but you will pay for the shipping and handlling back to me.
5.TAXES ---There may be some customs duties for you to pay, but if you
wish we can avoid them (if any):
ME --i have to declare the item as a gift for you and in this way you will pay NO costum fees and you will receive the item very fast.
YOU--have to declare at Western Union that you send the money to a friend in Romania that need this money, in this way when
our deal will be finished and i get the money from W.U. without problems.
Please let me know when you can make the payment and after this i will start the delivery process.
I hope you agree my terms and we will close this deal
sucessfully.
I look forward hearing from you.
Thanks!

No particulary reasons for western union but i will receive the funds
more easy,anyway you can ask for reference at :admin@safeserverebay.com
this man work for ebay and bought from me 5 units last week
Don't forget to tell him my email adress .
Regards,

"ebay logo"

HI
Yes is true that i bought 5 units Bose 48 from Therealsell@aol.com and i have sent the money thru Western Union in Romania.
Fast and easy transaction, as decribed, honest and excellent seller.
Delivery time 2 days .Recommend

Please do not reply to this email. The seller will contact you directly to make arrangements for payment and delivery.

Thank you for using NexTag!
***************************************
Hello!

The item is brand new , never used , in original box, the final price includes an international warranty of 2 years and the shipping taxes are paid by us .

Thank You
********************************************
Hello sir ,

This is our methods:

STEP 1. Before, i need your details ( full name and full address )so i can make the deposit
STEP 2 .I will make the deposit through DHL.
STEP 3.You receive the package in 3-5 days .
STEP 4. I will send you the tracking number .
STEP 5.You receive the confirmation from DHL with the details of the deposit and with the details of the package .
STEP 6. After you receive the tracking number and the confirmation from DHL you make the transfer at WesternUnion and send me the scanned paper .

Ok, to make sure, the TV is the LCD/Sony KDF-60WF655 60" Grand Wega High Definition LCD TV, correct? I want to make sure I understand the transaction fully. I am going to pay $1, 100.00 for the 60 inch Sony KDF-60WF655, is that correct??

This is obviously forged information. Just look at the names involved :) Also, why would a large, respected corporation like DHL use Yahoo name servers to host their DNS information? And I'm certain DHL's web sites have been in operation much longer than since July 21, 2005.

Yep, that looks legit. Lots of real telephone numbers, real names, real addresses, using professional-looking DNS servers owned by the company, in operation for more than one month :)

So the guy sent you to a fake tracking site, which puts up exactly the information he wants you to see. Respond and tell him that you went to http://www.dhl.com/, put in the tracking number, and it showed that there was no such number. The backpedaling will be exciting; the gig is up. I bet dimes to doughnuts that he'll tell you you "went to the wrong web site" and he'll tell you to go to the "right" one (the one owned and controlled by the scammer) in order to see the "real" information.